X Amount of Words
by Snowluvr410
Summary: High School is rough. AU. On hiatus for now.
1. Jaded

Note: This is waaay AU and probably overdone but, hey, who cares right?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot line.

* * *

"Ning."

**snore**

"Ning?"

**snore** **grunt** **mumble**

"Earth to Ning?!"

**groan** **snore**

"NING!!!"

"Ahhh! Wha' ya wan'?" Lu Xun looked at his lab partner and friend.

"It is time to conduct our experiment." Gan Ning stared at his friend for a moment before furrowing his brows.

"Wha?" He asked stupidly.

"You know, Chemistry class? We do lab experiments? Ring a bell?"

"The bell rang? Why didn'cha say so? 'M ready fer lunch!" Ning moved to get up but was stopped by something hitting him in the back of the head.

"You idiot! The bell hasn't rang yet, Xun is trying to tell you its time to get in our groups and do the experiment! If you weren't such a lazy sonuvabitch, you would've known that instead of falling asleep. Oh, and by the way, its only the first period of the day. Retard." Came Ling Tong's snippety voice from behind them. Xun and Ling Tong's lab partner Sun Shang Xiang snickered while Tong plastered a superior smirk on. Ning just raised an eyebrow, completely unaffected by Tong's spiteful words.

"What crawled up yer ass n' died? Yer bitchier than usual today." Tong's smirk dropped and he scowled at his 'nemesis'.

"Can't you use proper grammar for once in your meaningless life? You sound like a fucking retarded redneck."

"Can' ya go one minute without actin' like a snobby, stuck-up, prissy, little bitch? Wha? Daddy wouldn' let you use 'is credit card?" Ning snorted as Tong's face turned a deep red in anger. It looked like he was about to blow his top when their Chemistry teacher, Professor Lu Bu, approached the table containing the quarreling high school students. He stood there a good minute before Xun and Shang Xiang noticed him and then elbowed their respective partners, drawing their attention to the teacher. Lu Bu stared them down for a moment before speaking.

"Since your talking, I'll assume you have done the experiment already?" At their blank looks, he continued, "No? Then you can finish it together in detention after school." Tong and Ning almost groaned in annoyance before receiving a glare from their teacher.

"Um, what about me and Xun?" Shang Xiang asked timidly. His glare shot to her after lingering on the other two.

"You can do it together." He turned on his heel and went to hover threateningly over a different group. It was his favorite part of the job after all. Actually, intimidating other people was the only reason he woke up in the morning, that and shooting things, but that was reserved for the weekends only because guns weren't allowed on school property, unfortunately.

Shang Xiang and Xun got to work while Ning and Tong glared heatedly at each other, well, Tong glared heatedly, Ning stared off into space for the remainder of the period. Finally the bell rang and Ning dashed out of the classroom before it stopped ringing, leaving behind all of his belongings. The three he left behind rolled their eyes and Xun grabbed his stuff. As they exited the class they headed to their lockers to complain as per usual.

"Why can't you two just get along? This has been going on long enough!" Shang Xiang asked Tong as the three of them opened their lockers.

"He ATE my homework!" Tong shrieked hysterically.

"Tong, that was in the eighth grade! How can you hold a grudge for that long!? We are sophomores for crying out loud!" She said while Xun snickered. "Plus he said he was sorry and even redid it for you!"

"Yeah, and you even got an A on it, too, so its not like anything bad came from it! You should have thanked him for it!" Xun added. Tong glared at them for a minute before scoffing and crossing his arms.

"Thats what I thought. There is no good reason to be so vicious to him."

"Besides the fact that he is fucking weird as hell? Just the other day I saw him talking to a dead fish, and then he ate it! A whole fucking fish! If that isn't some weird shit, I don't know what is." Tong finished by slamming his locker closed.

"Its not like it was raw or anything. It was cooked! Thats not weird." Shang Xiang defended.

"Ning can be a little eccentric sometimes but he is a good person." Xun added in.

"He eats paper!"

"Correction, he 'ate' paper. Once. It was a long time ago, too."

"Whatever, I don't care. I have to go to class. I'll see you guys at lunch." The three parted ways to head to their separate classes.

"Ning? What are you doing?"

"'M tryin to sleep."

"On a locker? Isn't it a little uncomfortable?" Sun Quan asked his friend. Zhou Tai, Quan's not-boyfriend, stood stoically behind Quan staring down the people that passed by them too closely in the hall way, while holding Quan's books like they were of the utmost importance.

"Wha' d'ya wan?" Ning asked tiredly.

"Your slobbering on my locker." Ning looked confused for a moment before wiping off his slobber and moving over to the next locker. "Wrong locker, this one is yours." Quan said, pointing to the locker on the other side of his. Ning scooted over to that one instead.

"Mm, thanks." His eyelids began to droop again before he was pinched in the arm. "Wha?!"

"Why are you so tired, lately?" Quan asked transferring books from his locker to Tai's arms and vice versa.

"Workin double shifts at the warehouse. Some guy got stabbed so I gotta take over his shift 'til someone else is hired." Ning stated nonchalantly, not noticing Quan's jaw drop.

"Someone got STABBED!"

"Oh, 'es fine. It was more uva warnin'. 'E'll be outa the hospital in a week."

"A warning for what?!"

"Oh, ya know, guy didn' pay 'is dues n all."

"Uuuuh, I'm not even gonna ask, I don't wanna know."

"I gotta get ta class, see ya later guys." Ning took off, not even noticing he was missing his backpack or his books.

"....I worry about him sometimes." Quan said while closing his locker and heading off to class with Tai in tow.

"He'll be fine." Tai said assuredly.

"If you say so."

"...."

"Alright then, see you later." Quan took his books from Tai and headed into his class.

**SMACK**

"....."

Ce snickered as he sent another projectile at Zhou Tai's head. His goal was to get a reaction, preferably verbal but he'll take anything, from Tai but he had yet to reach it. He only had another school year to do it, so he had to step up his game. Fortunately, he had an overactive imagination.

**SMACK**

".........."

'Okay, onto the pencils.' He dropped his eraser bullets and picked up his best friend Zhou Yu's pencil. He took aim and sent it flying, only for it to lodge itself into Ning's hair. Ning, who was sitting right behind Tai, didn't move a muscle and continued to snore peacefully.

'Well, that sucked.....back to the erasers.' He picked up another eraser bit and chucked it at Tai, only to over throw and hit the teacher, Zhang Fei, in the forehead thus waking him up from his nap. Ce 'eeped' and stuck his nose into his book to use for cover. Zhang Fei grunted, yawned, and promptly fell asleep again.

With Zhang Fei as a teacher, they never did anything. They could do anything they wanted as long as they didn't make too much noise, causing the teacher's ever present hangover to become worse. It was the perfect time to catch up on sleep, homework, or throw objects at other students, much like Ce was doing. This time he missed and hit Taishi Ci in the back of the head.

Ci turned and sent a look back, his eyes resting on Ce, who was smiling innocently at him. He rolled his eyes and turned back to whatever it was that he was doing before. Ce let out a breath before grabbing another eraser. Just when he was about to let it loose, the bell rang. Like before, Ning shot out of his seat and made a dash for the door, only to be clothes-lined by Dian Wei, who promptly snickered and exited, but not without stepping on the dazed junior sprawled across the floor.

Ci reached down and hauled him up with barely any effort.

"You okay?" Ning waved him off and grinned.

"Ya, 'm good. 'S gonna take more than a prissy gangsta wannabe ta take me out. Nuthn' like the real deal." He grinned good naturedly and headed out the door without a second thought, it was lunch time and it was pizza day.

"Is he okay?" Ma Chao whispered to his best friend Zhao Yun.

"I don't know, he looks reeeeeeally red." Yun whispered back.

"Do you think he can hear us?"

"I don't know. Maybe?"

"Of course he can, your sitting two feet away." Jiang Wei, the object of their scrutiny, whispered without looking up from his assignment. It was silent for a moment before Chao broke it.

"Why are you talking about yourself in the third person?" He whispered to Wei, whose face flushed even more.

"Why are we whispering, he already knows we are talking about him!" Yun pointed out, still whispering. Chao thought about it for a moment and shrugged.

"I don't know." He whispered back.

"You two are idiots!" Wei exclaimed accidentally shoving his book off the table. Yun, being the good guy that he is, reached down to grab it. Meanwhile, Chao made some lewd gestures to their young friend, making him blush uncontrollably. When Yun placed the book back on the table, he stared bewildered at the sophomore's red face and glazed eyes.

"Whats with him?" He asked Chao, who grinned wickedly.

"I have no idea!" His innocent reply made Yun suspicious so he turned back to Wei.

"What did he do?" Wei made a series of hand gestures that made absolutely no sense while trying to explain.

"H-he....with the....and the.....and..." Finally, Wei collapsed from all the blood rushing to his head. Chao laughed out loud, pounding on the table for emphasis. He laughed for a good few minutes, drawing everyone's attention to their table. Finally, Yun smacked him across the face to shut him up, and pointed to the incapacitated Wei.

"What did you do!?"

"I might have made a few lewd gestures when you got his book." Chao replied.

"Chao, you know how he is! You can't do that to him!"

"It is funny though, how incredibly prude he is, you gotta admit." Yun cracked a small smile before rolling his eyes.

"Okay, but, seriously, we need to get him to the nurse's office."

"Oh fine." Chao got up and went to talk to the teacher while Yun grabbed Wei's arm and tugged him up. Chao came back and placed Wei's other arm around his shoulder and together they dragged him to the nurse. Halfway there, Wei woke up a little.

"Wass goin on?" He asked tiredly.

"You fainted." Chao supplied, smirking down at Wei.

"We are taking you to the nurse." Yun added, smiling. Wei blushed heavily and started stuttering.

"O-oh, y-you don't n-need to do that! I c-can walk." He half-heartedly started to struggle.

"Oh no you don't! This is getting us out of the assignment!" Chao stated, picking up Wei like a rag doll and placing him over his shoulder.

"Ah! Let me down! This is very inappropriate! Put me down right this instant!" Wei whined, but Chao just chuckled and continued on his way. Wei pouted and gave Yun the puppy dog eyes. Yun grinned and ruffled his hair.

"Nice try Wei, but it isn't gonna work this time."

"Ah man!" Wei admitted defeat and let himself be carried. Yun walked next to Chao and grinned at him.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you were crushing on the little guy." He suggested off-handedly. Chao smirked back.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you were a little jealous."

"Well, its a good thing you don't, now isn't it? I know how you hate competition." Yun snarked back.

"Oh on the contrary, I _love_ competition." He challenged back, smirking when Yun grinned evilly back.

"You know, I'm right here right? I can hear everything your saying." Wei muttered from behind them, his face beet red. Yun and Chao just loved teasing him.

"Oh my! How very unfortunate that adorable little Jiang Wei heard us talking about just how much we adore him!" Yun joked. Chao grinned and played along.

"Oh yes! He must now know how much we would love to take him to the nearest closet and have our naughty way with him! Oh the embarrassment we will surely suffer!" Jiang Wei began to sputter in disbelief and embarrassment.

"You guys! Knock it off!" He half-heartedly pounded a fist into Chao's lower back, earning a chuckle.  
"But we loooooove you!" Yun cooed, ruffling Wei's hair. Wei scoffed and whipped his head away, signaling his displeasure with the two older boys.

"Oh come on, Wei. We're only kidding!" Yun said. When Wei didn't answer he motioned to Chao to put him down. Chao set him daintily on his feet and Wei turned away immediately.

"I think he is mad at us." Chao whispered.

"Yes, I think your right." Yun whispered back.

"What should we do?"

"I got an idea." Yun whispered some words into his best friend's ear, whose face split into a grin after Yun pulled away, smirking. "Sound good?"

"I think it sounds really good." Wei, knowing the maniacal tone in Chao's voice, wasted no time in running away to the nurse's office.

"Well, thats no fun." Yun pouted. Chao crossed his arms and sighed.

"Oh the injustice! Now we must go back to class and finish the assignment that neither of us knows how to do because of our incessant flirting with the adorable and unyielding Jiang Wei."

"Quite the injustice indeed." They both stood in the hallway for a moment longer before shrugging.

"Wanna get a taco?"

"Love to."

"So, 'e threw ya over 'is shoulder n carried ya away?" Ning asked Wei as they walked home from school together. "Wow. Tha's some crazy fairytale shit." Wei rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance.

"Why must they continue to taunt my feelings? They may be joking, but do they really have to get my hopes up like that? Its heartbreaking." Ning gave the younger a pat on the shoulder in assurance.

"At least both ov em are nice ta ya. Bettr than spittin venom ev'ry time they open their mouth." Ning grouched.

"Ling Tong is still acting like an eighth grader? That must be really unpleasant." Wei commented unhelpfully.

"I try not ta let it get ta me. Jus' 'nother stuck up brat that thinks 'e knows ev'rythin'."

"People like that annoy me."

"Me too, kid." Wei sighed at the injustices of the world as they waited to cross the street. "So, Ci is havin' a party tomorrow. Wanna go?"

"Anything to get away from home. I think Ji has found out about my crushes and now she will taunt me endlessly. You know how she is."

"Hmm, tha' sucks."

"I'm used to it. So, how is work going? I heard you were taking double shifts, again. Something happen?"

"Dude got stabbed."

"Ah. Guess he is better off than the last guy." Ning snorted in amusement. "Who is going to be at the party?"

"I dunno."

"Oh." Wei said disappointed.

"'M sure Yun and Chao are gonna be there. They- ah crap!"

"What?"

"I had detention." Ning stated blankly. Wei looked at his watch.

"You might have enough time to get back and not be late if you run." Ning sighed and looked the direction they were walking for a moment.

"Ya gonna be alright?"

"I think I can make it a block and a half." Wei smiled assuredly. Ning grinned and patted him on the head.

"Ya betta! See ya!" He took off running back the way they came, dodging people and cars. Wei sighed and looked up and down the street before crossing.

So, what do you guys think? Good or bad? Should I keep using the names I am now or should I use their whole name or should I use their other names? Its your choice, I can use any of them. Let me know!


	2. Time After Time

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue!

Author's Note: Well, I got one review so that is better than nothing, so I will continue.

Little-Miss-Vampire-Emo: I know right? But Shu is by far my favorite, but I still like Wu and Wei, I just love Shu, lol. Thanks for the review!

Gan Ning's POV

He was trying to glare a hole through my head, I just knew it. Its funny because everything he does has no effect on me whatsoever and he tries so damn hard, too. Usually I humor him with a snarky retort, but I wasn't in the mood for his prissy attitude right now. I had a few drop offs to do after detention and then a shift at the warehouse. It was going to be a very late night for me, I could already feel the fatigue setting in. I hadn't gotten more than three or four hours of sleep for the past four days and it was catching up to me. Today, I couldn't stay awake in any of my classes, even PE. Dodgeball and sleeping don't mix at all.

"Are ya gonna help me or sit there n try ta glare me ta death? I got better things ta do than this!" My anger got the better of me finally. We were supposed to be doing this stupid experiment together and so far I was the only one doing anything.

"What? Can't wait to scamper home and waste your life away?" Tong replied snidely. I rolled my eyes and continued to work. I inwardly grinned because I knew Ling Tong hated being ignored. "Besides, I've seen where you live, and if I were you I wouldn't be in any hurry to get home. That place is a dump! Your parents must be dirt fucking poor if that shit hole is all they can afford."

I tried to reign in my anger as I sat there holding the test tubes. I could just feel Ling Tong's smirk. I carefully set the test tubs down in their rightful places and gathered my stuff. 'I have to get out of here.'

"I did most of it, finish it yerself." I gritted out and left.

It didn't take me long to reach the block where I lived. I looked up at the two story building and sighed. Ling Tong had been right, the building was a shit hole. It was ancient and it looked like a haunted house of sorts.

I walked in the door and was immediately bombarded with two little bodies. I stayed on my feet easily as the two kids weren't big.

"Ninny!" The littlest one squealed. Her smile had gaps in many places and her honey colored hair had all sorts of bows and clips in it. I grinned in response.

"Xiao! Lookin' b-e-a-utiful as usual." She giggled and kissed me on the cheek daintily. The other one, Xiao's older sister Da, was covered in frilly fabrics and colorful ribbons. "And you too, Da! Did ya raid Ji's closet again?" The two little girls giggled and I set them down.

"Nu-uh! She gave them to us! Said she made them just for us!" Da replied happily.

"Well, that was nice uv 'er."

"Yup!" Xiao squeaked before grabbing Da's hand and running into the other room. Just then Liu Bei, the man that had 'adopted' us, came down the stairs holding onto Ping's ear and gently scolding him.

"Now, Ping, what did I tell you about reading Ji's diary?" Ping pouted.

"To Not to." Liu Bei let go of Pings ear.

"Exactly. So why were you?" Ping started to fidget for a moment and then blushed when he noticed me.

"U-um....." Ping shifted nervously and I knew he was gonna loose his cool, as he usually did in these situation.

His eyes shifted around the room.......

3

He started ringing his hands......

2

His lip started trembling.....

1

"ZHEN JI HAS A BOYFRIEND! HIS NAME IS XAIHOU DUN AND THEY MADE OUT ON THE KITCHEN TABLE!" And there he went. Bei sighed and rubbed his temple.

This occurred quite often and I was surprised no one had kicked his ass yet. The poor kid just wasn't good with dealing with stressful situations. It started happening after his father, Guan Yu, a good friend of Liu Bei's, died. The kid just didn't have a backbone and was really sensitive about everything, and I mean everything. By now he was crying and attempting to apologize.

"Ping. Shh. Its alright."

"I-I-I...*hic* I-I'm... *sob* s-sorry!" He took off up the stairs, probably to write an apology poem to Zhen Ji, as per usual after one of his melt-downs. Bei sighed sadly and turned to see me.

"Hello, Ning! Your home later than usual. Wei came home about an hour ago."

"Yeeeeeeaaah, I was in detention." I winced and rubbed my neck, my nervous habit. Bei's face held a little bit of disappointment.

"What happened this time?" I am glad that Liu Bei didn't ever outright accuse me of anything whenever I was in trouble but then again it made me feel even more guilty for all the bad things that I do.

"I got inta an argument with a classmate."

"It wouldn't happen to be Ling Tong that you got into an argument with, would it?" I sighed and nodded. "I see. You have baby sitting detail on Saturday night then. Zhen Ji has a date and I have to work." We moved into the kitchen, where Wei was reading one of Ping's comics and munching on some crackers.

"What about Pang Tong?" I asked, trying to get out of it. Wei looked up in interest.

"He is in jail. Again. He won't be able to be bailed out for a while this time. Yue Ying decided to teach him a lesson."

"What'd he do this time?" I asked in interest. That guy was always getting himself into trouble but his roommate, Yue Ying, usually bailed him out.

"He flashed a police officer."

"Again?" Wei butted into the conversation.

"Yeah, the Sheriff this time."

"Huh. I didn' think he was actually gonna do it." I thought back to last weekend when he was telling us of his plans.

"You should know by now that he _always_ does what he says hes gonna do."

"True."

"So, Saturday you'll watch them. Clear your schedule." I sighed dejectedly and nodded.

"Fine." Liu Bei exited the room to get ready for work and I grabbed a cup and filled it with water.

"Stuck babysitting us on Saturday, huh?" Wei went back to reading his comic.

"Yep."

"Thats lame."

"Yep."

"Do you have drops to make tonight?"

"Yep."

".....work, too?"

"Yep."

"Wow, what an extensive vocabulary you have Ning."

"....yep." Wei snorted and I grinned. "Gotta go, kiddo. Make sure Ji don't kill Ping. Heres some money for a couple pizzas. Zhao Yun is workin delivery t'night. Later." I grinned as Wei blushed uncontrollably and then I left, knowing pizza would be ordered from Dominos tonight.

Guan Ping's POV

"Ji?" I knocked a couple times on her door but I knew she was still fuming about catching me reading her diary. "Ji? Please forgive me." I knocked again, knowing that she would eventually open it. She always did. People always said she was a cold hearted bitch, but they didn't see her when she stayed up late making pretty things for the girls or the scrap book she made for all of my art works and poems. "Ji, I wrote you a poem." I heard a sigh from the other side of the door and smiled slightly. I was forgiven.

The next moment the door opened and she half-heartedly glared at me. I offered her the poem and she took it, reading over it. A small smile crossed her lips before she waved me in.

"I'm sorry I looked into your diary." She sighed again and sat on her bed. She set the poem on the table to be cataloged later and picked up what she had been working on. I went over and sat on her old bean bag chair, waiting for her to say something. In the meantime, I looked around her room at the assortment of fabrics, ribbons, and yarns. She wanted to go to design school next year and then go on to create her own line of clothes one day. Her diary said so.

"I have something for you." I looked back at her confused.

"You do? What is it?" I asked excitedly. The only time we got new things were on our birthdays and mine wasn't for another eight months, two weeks, and three days. Unless, we stole something, but Liu Bei frowned upon that so we usually exchanged it for cash so he wouldn't know.

I watched as Ji got up and went to her closet, digging around for a few moments before pulling back with something in her hands. It was a bundle of deep green, brown, and black, my three favorite colors.

"Here." She handed it to me and I unfolded it carefully. I saw that it was a coat as soon as it was completely unfolded.

Zhen Ji's POV

I watched him carefully unfold my gift like it was made out of silk. He looked up at me and then back down, when it was completely unfolded.

"Wow! This is awesome! Where did you get it!" He jumped up and pulled it on excitedly. It was a little big on him but that was my intent. He had recently hit a growth spurt and was starting to grow out of his clothes and right into Ning's. This jacket would last him until next year at least.

"I made it. I knew your old coat was too small and figured you would need a new one."

"Thank you so much, Ji! Your the best! I swear I will never read your diary again!" I smiled and rolled my eyes.

"Sure you won't." I joked. Out of all my adopted siblings, Ping was my favorite. He cracked a grin and went to give me a hug but paused, asking for permission. I rolled my eyes and outstretched my arms, into which he happily bounded. After a few moments he pulled away and rushed out the door, no doubt off to show off his new clothing. I sighed and grabbed the poem, reading it once more before putting it next to my scrap booking supplies. I then headed downstairs to find something to eat and hopefully catch Ning before he left.

Ning and I were the first ones Liu Bei had taken in, I was eleven and Ning was ten. I had been in the orphanage and was probably Liu Bei's only legal child. Ning was a street rat that had lived in a box in the alley next to the building. One night Liu Bei invited him in and he never left. That was seven years ago.

A year later Jiang Wei's, who was ten, mother, a friend of Bei's, died. He didn't have any other relatives so Liu Bei took him in as well.

About three years ago, when Guan Ping was twelve, his father died. Guan Yu was a very close friend of Liu Bei's so he happily took Ping in. He didn't talk to anyone for a whole month and then spent another month being angsty to everyone, especially Liu Bei, but eventually got over it.

The last two, Xiao and Da, only joined us about two years ago, at two and four. Their father was a drug addict who actually paid Liu Bei to take care of them. A check came every month in the mail, but thankfully neither of them remember the man and think Liu Bei is their real father.

Lui Bei is a good parent, probably the best any of us could have ever had. He is a saint for putting up with all of us and our problems and he cares for us like we were his blood. Sometimes I wonder why he does or if he ever thinks about just booting us all out.

I stepped onto the first floor landing and headed to the kitchen to see Wei reading one of Ping's comics.

"Did Ning leave already?"

"Not too long ago, maybe ten or fifteen minutes ago. He said he had some drops to make today." I sat down and sighed.

"I wish he wouldn't do that anymore. He is going to go out one day and never come back." Wei put the comic down and sighed also.

"I know, but I'm done with trying to convince him not to."

"Yeah, me too. He won't even listen to dad anymore. He has it in his stupid head that we need the extra money desperately."

"Not that badly." We sat in silence for a moment before Wei slid a small wad of cash across the table to me. "He left some money for takeout. I want pizza."

"You want pizza delivery boy." I smirked as his face went red.

"Sh-shut up."

"Did someone say pizza?" Ping asked walking into the kitchen and sitting at the table. I snorted when I got a good look at him. He had a mixture of beads, ribbons, and clips in his spiky hair, with glitter and makeup on his face.

"Oh aren't you pretty!" Wei cooed, pinching the fifteen year old's cheeks, causing him to scowl and blush at the same time.

"C-cut it out!" He swatted at Wei's hand and pouted. "The girls over powered me!"

"You were over powered by a four year old and a six year old? Thats pathetic, even for you Ping." I joked. He put on his best glare, but it was no where near fierce enough looking. He had too much of a baby face.

"Sh-shut up!" He went back to pouting again.

"So what kind of pizza do you guys want?"

"I know what kind of pizza Wei wants." Ping muttered, causing Wei to huff and pout as well.

"So, meat lovers with extra cheese coming right up."

Ma Chao's POV

"Business sure is slow tonight." My best friend and I were sitting behind the counter of Dominos waiting for something to do. Yun was 'reading' the news. I was fiddling with a pen, willing the phone to ring or someone to walk through the door. So far it wasn't working, but I would not give up.

"Stare any harder at that phone and it might just implode." Yun stated randomly.

"I'm willing it to ring."

"Thats stupid."

"At least I'm trying, you've been staring at that same picture for the past half hour."

"I read the article too." My friend drawled.

"Oh yeah? Whats it about?" I asked half-interested, half-bored out of my mind. We hadn't had a costumer in two hours.

"The healing effects of kittens on terminally ill patients." I looked up skeptically.

"What?"

"Yeah, this cat supposedly saved this dudes life by just letting him pet him. Its like Jesus kitty or something."

"Jesus kitty? Seriously?"

"Yeah, front page news."

"What newspaper do you read?" Yun looked at the heading and shrugged.

"The Gazette."

"Well, no wonder. Those guys are on crack. All they write about are stupid stories and human interest pieces. Nothing about the important things." Yun looked up from his 'news' and gave me a skeptical look.

"What could be more important than Jesus kitty?" I gaped at him and he just stared back.

"You did not just ask me that."

"I believe I did." We continued to stare each other down until the phone rang.

"You gonna get that?" Finally Yun broke eye contact and glanced at the phone.

"I was thinking about it." I replied. We both stared at it for a moment more. "You think I should get it?"

"It would be the polite thing to do."

"Your right. I'll get it." I picked up the receiver and grabbed my pad and pen. "Thank you for calling Dominos, what can I do for you tonight?" I heard Yun snort and gave him the finger in response.

"_Yes, I would like an extra-large meat lovers pizza with extra cheese, cheesy sticks, and- What do you two want to drink?"_

I heard some muffled voices and sighed. I hated it when customers did this, couldn't they make up their minds _before_ they called?

"_Okay, two diet Cokes, a Root beer, and a Sprite."_

"Is that all?"

"_I don't know. **Jiang Wei,** is there something else you wanted?" _The woman on the other end asked slyly, emphasizing the name. I laughed when I heard a choking noise. Yun looked up, questioningly. I held up my hand to tell him to wait.

"_Thats all I guess, but make sure we have a cute delivery boy!" _I laughed again and took down the order and wrote down the address.

"Okay, will that be cash or card?"

"_Cash, please." _

"Okay, your order will be ready in twenty to twenty-five minutes. I'll try to follow through with that last request as well." I heard her laugh on the other end and hang up. I put down the receiver and looked at Yun. "Guess who wants a pizza delivery." Yun shrugged.

"I don't know, who?"

"Jiang Wei." We both smirked and scrabbled to get the order done.

"I call dibs!" Yun shouted.

"Oh no you don't! I answered the call! This is _MY_ delivery!" I shoved him out of the way, only to fall flat on my face when he tripped me. He snatched the order out of my hand and headed into the back room, locking the door behind him. "Oh the injustice!" I heard Yun laughing from the other room.

"In the name of Justice, I WILL deliver that pizza!" I vowed. I got up and headed to the delivery car and hid, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Zhao Yun's POV

'Victory is mine!' I chanted happily in my head as I headed out to the car, pizza in tow.

I know Chao is my best friend and there are rules for these sorts of things, but I think I was in the right. After all, I saw him first. I know what would happen if Wei chose one over the other, but, just like all the other times, I didn't seem to care. It wasn't the first time this kind of thing happened and I doubt it will be the last. Things always worked out.

Last year we both had a crush on Xing Cai and she ended up picking me. Chao beat the living day lights out of me and wouldn't talk to me for a week before we became friends again. It was like it had never happened. The year before that we both fell for Lu Xun, who ended up being straight so that was a no go, but during that whole fiasco, we beat each other up pretty badly, but eventually went back to being friends.

It has crossed my mind more than once that it is weird that we both fall for the same person all the time, but maybe that is testament to how close we are. I can't remember a day that I didn't know Chao. We shared the same sandbox, same bicycle, same pretty much everything. I don't think anyone could come between us for any long period of time.

I placed the order in the passenger seat of the car and went to get in when I felt someone tackle me from behind. Thinking I was getting mugged, I elbowed the guy in the face and scrambled to my feet at the first opportunity. I whipped around to see Chao holding his eye, where had I hit him and my jaw dropped.

"What the hell, Chao!"

"Oh that hurt." He mumbled.

"Why the hell did you attack me!"

"I didn't 'attack' you! I was trying to surprise you but I tripped and fell on you. Then you did THIS!" He pointed at his left eye, which was very red.

"Oh. Well sorry. I thought you were trying to mug me." I said sheepishly. I really felt like an idiot.

"I do not accept!" He huffed.

"What?"

"Your apology. I do not accept!" He repeated.

"What the fuck?!"

"Let me make the delivery and I won't beat you up." I crossed my arms and lifted an eyebrow challenging.

"I don't think so." He straightened his back and cocked an eyebrow as well.

"Oh, I think you will." I snorted as he tried to intimidate me. I squared my shoulders and challenged him back.

"Make me."

"What?"

"I said. Make. Me." I smirked at his frown. "If you can." After that it was a big blur of fists, knees, elbows, and biting.

"What the fuck are you guys doing?!" Came the voice of our manager. We both looked up, before scrambling away from each other.

"U-um, nothing at all! We were...just playing!" Chao stuttered out and I rolled my eyes. The boy couldn't lie to save his life. Our boss rolled his eyes also, probably thinking the same thing.

"Anyway, the next shift is here so you two can deliver that pizza and then go home."

"Okay!" Chao exclaimed before dashing to the passenger side.

"Night sir!" I said and got in the car.

Well, thats all for now! Please review, they are very welcome! Plus they make me happy XD. Anyway, if you guys are wondering about ages, Zhen Ji is 18, Gan Ning is 17, Jiang Wei is 16, Guan Ping is 15, Da Qiao is 6, Xiao Qiao is 4, and Ma Chao and Zhao Yun are both 17. I will probably put down ages as I go.

Okay, what I want to know from the reader is, who should Wei end up with: Yun or Chao? Its your choice really.

Peace Ppl!


	3. Shadow Of The Day

Disclaimer: Don't own so don't sue!

Kurai-Shuwazi: Thanks for the review! I know right? Absolutely adorable! I'm thinking about them both getting him, but there will be some serious revelations going on later on. You'll see XD.

Little-Miss-Vampire-Emo: Thanks for the review. Well, wanted them to seem like a strange family and I wasn't sure who I want to be the 'father' and Liu Bei came out on top. He seems like the type to do things like that. All virtuous and such lol.

Author's Note: I know the previous chapters were more light hearted but I wanted to test myself on different genres and I sort of had this really great idea so this chapter is going to be very different. I know its going to seem like WTF?! but bear with me. Things happen for a reason!

Ping's POV

"You should press it." Yun stated. He was holding the sodas in his arms and was staring at the doorbell.

"I think you should press it." Chao said back. He was holding the pizza and also staring at the doorbell.

"Why me?"

"Why not you?" Yun pouted and glared at Chao.

"Well, why not you?" Chao's face morphed into a frown and he turned to Yun.

'Those two are such idiots!' I thought as I watched them from window next to the door. They definitely didn't notice me, what with all the arguing. 'I don't know what Wei sees in these twits.' Right now they were arguing about who was more able to press the doorbell. Not that it mattered, it didn't work anyway.

"Whats going on?" Ji asked from behind me. I waved her over without turning from the conflict. "What?" She asked looking out with me.

"Those two are so stupid." I heard her chuckle from behind me.

"Thats Yun and Chao for you. There isn't a time when they aren't being stupid."

"What does Wei see in those two anyway?" Ji shrugged and left the window.

"I should interfere before one of them kills the other." Just as she said that Chao cocked back a fist and sent it slamming into Yun's face, sending him flailing to the concrete. The sodas he had been previously holding hit the ground and burst, completely covering them both. They were at each other's throats when Ji opened the door. I snickered as she started screeching at them.

"WHAT THE FUCK! YOU TWO ARE COMPLETE DILL-HOLES! YOU ARE GONNA BUY US SOME MORE SODA AND YOU ARE LATE!!!! WE ARE NEVER ORDERING FROM YOU AGAIN! NO TIP FOR YOU!" She stopped yelling and kicked Chao in the shin and Yun in the side, for good measure. "Now come in and have some pizza!" She grabbed the pizza out of Chao's hand and walked inside. The two boys looked as confused as ever. Chao helped Yun up then they both shrugged and followed Ji inside.

"What a couple of morons." I sighed and rolled my eyes. Out of the corner of my eye I caught movement from the alley that separated our building from the one next to us and frowned. Who in their right mind would go into an alley in this part of town alone at this time of day? Thats like walking up to a gangster and spitting in his face. You just don't do it. Its practically suicide. I felt someone tap my shoulder and I turned to see Ji. It seemed she had been calling my name.

"Do you want some pizza?" I cast one more look out the window before nodding.

"Y-yeah, pizza, awesome!" She furrowed her eyebrow and glanced out the window over my shoulder and back at me.

"Something up?"

"Nah, j-just thinking. Hehe." She looked at me skeptically for a moment before shrugging and turning back to the table. I followed her pushing what I just saw to the back of my head to revisit later. We all sat down in the living room with some pizza and soda, listening to Chao and Yun's recount of their Dominos escapade, which caused Wei to blush more than I had ever seen him blush before. Yun and Chao had no shame whatsoever. Ji and I just snickered at Wei's discomfort and Chao and Yun's idiocy.

It was well into the evening when Ji's boyfriend Xiahou Dun came over. He just joined us in the living room and joined in the conversation currently taking place.

"Dude, swiss cheese could kick cheddar cheese's ass!" Yun argued with Chao. How we got on the subject of cheese is beyond me but it was rather entertaining. Chao looked like Yun had just kicked his hamster, whose name is Butch as we had learned.

"How can you say that! Cheddar cheese is the best out there!" Dun snorted and added his two cents as well.

"You both are wrong. Pepper Jack is the best cheese in the world." Ji rolled her eyes as Dun lowered to their level. Chao and Yun looked at him like he was insane and glanced at each other, seemingly having a conversation in silence. After a moment or two they looked back at him with twin smirks in place.

"Well, why don't we find whose cheese is indeed the best!" Yun proclaimed.

"Yes! We shall and it will be a battle full of fairness and JUSTICE!" There seemed to be a collective sweat drop on all of our heads at Chao's proclamation. "What?"

"Chao, your an idiot." Yun replied before pushing him over on his side. Chao huffed and righted himself.

"So, how are going to go about this?" Dun asked.

"We shall take it to the streets!" Yun exclaimed. Chao and Yun crossed their arms in triumph and Dun cracked his knuckles in anticipation.

"Alright. To the Mall!" Dun replied standing with the other two. Ji, Wei, and I each rolled our eyes as they started to get their coats and shoes on.

"So are we going to go watch those idiots, or what?" Ji asked smirking. Wei and I nodded and stood to get ready as well.

Ji's POV

"Dun I can't believe your sinking to their level. You guys are the biggest idiots I have ever known."

"Ah whatever. I'm just having fun." I rolled my eyes and latched arms with him anyway. We headed toward the door and stood back as Yun opened it, joking with Chao. However the joking ended when he turned to the door. We all froze as a gun was pointed at Yun's face.

"Everyone into the living room. Now." The man spoke. He was wearing a mask, like the ones people wear on Halloween, leather gloves, a navy long sleeved t-shirt, and a pair of dark wash jeans. The men that followed him in were wearing a variety of masks but were in general wearing the same get up. They herded us into the living room and watched as we huddled together. Dun pushed me behind his back, blocking my view partially. I saw out of the corner of my eye as Chao pushed Wei and Yun behind his back. I could already see the tears in Ping's eyes so I grabbed his hand and tugged him to my side. He huddled into my shoulder scared out of his wits. I glanced toward the stairs, hoping that the girls would stay asleep upstairs and not come down.

The man that answered the door, I'm assuming he was the boss because all the others were looking to him, chuckled and placed his gun in its holster.

"Do not worry young lady. I have no intention of harming the little girls. I am here for a specific reason. Can you guess what it is?" I shook my head, as did the others. He chuckled again. "Revenge dear child. You see your father has caused me great suffering and now I want to return the favor to him now."

"What has my father done to you!?" I asked in shock. Liu Bei was the kindest man anyone has ever met, he wouldn't hurt a fly.

"Oh, not your father dear girl. Liu Bei has done no wrong to me. I am talking about _his _father." He pointed toward Ping, who had started to cry. I understood now. Ping's father had been a detective with a very impressive record. He had put away a lot of criminals. This man must have been one of those criminals. "Your father put me away ten years ago and I have been planning my revenge every day since then. It was hard to come up with a plan for revenge, especially after I found out that he had died, but I found out he had a son and it came to me very easily then. So, I got some friends of mine to find out where you lived and keep tabs on you. Now here I am, ready to get my revenge." His voice had taken on a sinister tone and I hugged Ping to me. My shirt was already soaked from his tears and his sobs were very audible by now. The men around us chuckled.

"I had no idea the great Guan Yu's only son was such a cry baby. This will be much more fun than I originally thought." I felt Wei's arm encircle Ping as well and I glanced at him over Ping's head. His eyes were sad and I could imagine that mine held the same look.

"I've been staked outside this house for two weeks. I've been keeping tabs on him for ten years. I think I know pretty much all there is to know about him."

'You've been stalking your enemy's son for a decade? Thats a little perverted.' I couldn't help but think. 'This isn't good.'

Ping's POV

My father had told once when I was younger that his job was dangerous. He told me that some people didn't like him very much and would want to hurt him. They might even want to hurt me, too. I didn't understand back then what he was talking about, but I do now. There was never a time that I disliked my father in anyway, but now, as I was being wrenched away from my big sister and brother, there was a part of me deep down that was angry at my father.

My siblings were crying and saying things to the men, but I couldn't understand them through the fog of my own tears. I didn't know what this guy was going to do to me but I knew it wasn't going to be pleasant. I felt something cold at the back of my head and only needed one guess to find out what it was. He was talking but I couldn't understand the words coming out of his mouth. I watched as my siblings and the others were tied together. They all had looks of horror on their faces, it must have been what the guy said. I just continued to bawl my eyes out like the baby I was.

I couldn't help but wonder, was this the person I saw going into the alley? And if I had told someone about it, would we be in this situation? This only made me cry more. 'I am such an idiot!' I felt the guy nudge me in the back of the head with the gun and I tried to make out what he was saying.

"...going....went through.....enjoy..." I couldn't piece it together, but I did see Dun's face clench in a semblance of horror, like he could foresee what was going to happen and that scared me. Ji and Wei had tears leaking down their faces and I knew it was going to be bad. Part of me wanted to know but the other part of me was telling me I would be better off if he would just kill me instead. The next thing I know I'm being dragged somewhere by my hair and all I could comprehend was the pain. He dropped me on the cool ground and I realized I was in the kitchen. The back of my head hurt from the impact but I didn't have time to register much more before I heard a crack and felt my nose start stinging with pain. If I hadn't been already crying, I definitely would be now. I reached to cup my face but my arm was yanked away painfully.

He dragged me to my feet and punched me in the gut. He laughed as I tried to breathe, but it was no use. I felt him grip my neck and push me face first into the cabinet. My face erupted with more pain as he slammed it into the cabinets a couple more times. I could feel the blood drip down the my face, getting in my eyes and mouth. With his hold still on my neck, he slammed me onto the stove-top. He must have turned it on a little while ago because it was already hot. My left hand accidentally landed on one of the burners and I yelped at the heat. I went to pull it away quickly but he held it there.

I could feel the skin on my hand burning and it was more agonizing than anything I had ever felt in my life. The heat from another burner was soaking through my sleeve and into my arm and I could smell my hair and shirt burning.

"Now your going to get a taste of what I went through in prison little man." He whispered in my ear and I screamed as something stabbed into my right leg.

Ji's POV

It had been a good five minutes before the smoke alarm went off in the kitchen, where that bastard had dragged my little brother. Wei was crying into Chao's shoulder while Yun cried into his other one. Chao was sitting there glaring in the direction of the kitchen. Dun was trying his best to comfort me without the use of his arms but I could tell he wanted to kick some serious ass. The men around us were chuckling and acting like they were standing in line to watch a movie. It sickened me.

A moment later I heard a loud pain-filled scream come from the kitchen and tears started leaking from my eyes. I didn't want to know what the bastard was doing to my brother in there but I had a feeling. The man has said, _"This little bitch is going to find out what I went through in prison and I'm going to enjoy it." _

I wasn't naive. I knew what happened in prison. Dun had spent a couple years in prison and told me a lot of what went on in there and it scared the hell out of me. They were going to do that to my little brother? It made me cry even harder. There wasn't a damn thing I could do about it either. A few moments later there were more screams coming from the kitchen and Dun tensed beside me and hung his head. He looked at me in sadness and I cried even harder.

Alrighty then, thats it for now. Um, it may look bad now but it was neccessary. I'm thinking that Ping is going to make it though, so don't worry. Thanks for reading and please review to let me know what you think k. Peace!


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